Air Dome Laboratory

The Air Dome Laboratory was a virus research institute located on the outskirts of Harvardville. This state-of-the-art facility was constructed on behalf of the WilPharma Corporation, and was built for the purpose of research and development of vaccines for viruses such as t-Virus, which poses considerable threat due to its use by bioterrorists. The complex was destroyed in late 2005 in what was later revealed to be a plot by one of its senior researchers to escape with its research to sell to terrorists.

History

Planning of the Air Dome Laboratory emerged some time after the Terragrigia Panic of 2004, where the existence of B.O.W.s became public knowledge, thus leading to a surge in interest in viral weapons by terrorist groups across the world. WilPharma offered, therefore, a private business solution to the problem by investing in vaccine development through medicinal profits. This plan was not without controversy, however, and the company's CEO had to go on television to stress that its state-of-the-art safety standards effectively meant the risk of a Raccoon City-type viral outbreak impossible.

In November 2005, the facility suffered a catastrophic outbreak instigated to deliberately prevent any further production of the t-Vaccine. This attack was masterminded by Dr. Frederic Downing, who was secretly behind a t-Virus outbreak in India as a means of advertising the virus on the black market. Assisting in the radicalisation and armament of Dr. Curtis Miller, who already held a grudge against the company, Dr. Downing was able to fake his death in Dr. Miller's bombing of the lab, which led to the other researchers mutating into Zombies. Taking advantage of the confusion he abandoned the facility with a briefcase containing t-Virus; t-Vaccine and G-Virus samples. Dr. Miller meanwhile infected himself with a Golgotha sample and mutated into a powerful mutant, killing several Rangers sent after him. The facility responded to the outbreaks by initiating sterilisation procedures, but his survival led to escalating measures. Eventually all Sectors were dumped into a chasm below, where Dr. Miller fell into an explosion.

In the weeks after the incident, Tricell purchased WilPharma, and sent a hazmat team to search for any remaining trace of Dr. Miller for G-Virus research.

Architecture

The Garden.

The facility was designed to work as five movable sectors within the dome, ranging from Sector "0" which was used for administration and meetings, through to Sector "4" where t-Virus samples were stored for vaccine research. These sectors were held in place above a chasm by railings comparable to an elevator, and in the event of quarantine could be lowered into the chasm to prevent further spread whether to the other sectors or the surface. The facility and sectors were also pressurised, and the atmosphere could therefore be changed if necessary. Security for the facility was handled at the top level of the complex, which did not descend. In the middle of the complex was a garden for the personal enjoyment of staff and visitors, but to prevent mutagenic viral spread through the garden, the area could be sterilised with sprinklers spraying Anhydrous Ethanol and set alight.

In the event of a catastrophe, the facility's computers will order increasingly more aggressive responses to an outbreak, from destroying the garden to ejecting the Sectors to the chasm and exploding them. Due to the nature of the outbreak at the laboratory, all methods of disposal took place, leaving the facility deserted.